Middle East Update and a Recommended Book to Read

There is hardly a week go by when I am not approached by someone with this question: Will Israel launch a strike against Iran?  My response is: I do not know, but I believe that something is going to happen in that part of the world; I just don't know when.  The Israelis have a legitimate fear of Iran - a nation whose leaders have denied the Holocaust, and yet have announced their intentions to create a Holocaust of their own - possessing any type of nuclear weapon.  And Iran enhances those fears with the announcement this week that they have developed a stronger middle-range missile and are also developing a more sophisticated anti-missile defense system to protect its nuclear sites.  So, if Israel is to strike, the window of opportunity where sustained casualties will be minimal is closing.  Many experts believe such a strike will occur before the fall elections here in the United States; others say the strike will not occur until after the elections.  But tensions are definitely increasing.

Tensions are also mounting on Israel's southern border with Egypt.  As I have reported before, since the overthrow of Egyptian President Mubarak in January 2011, terrorist activity in the Sinai has increased dramatically.  The most recent occurred just a few weeks ago when 15 Egyptian security officers were killed by militants before IDF forces stopped them.  Now Egypt has sent tanks and armored personal carriers into the Sinai.  I know you are saying, "So, they are just beefing up their own security."  But, according to the 1979 Camp David Accords, Egypt is to have no military presence in the Sinai unless the Israeli government has given its okay.  With the uncertainty of newly elected President Morsi's government, the increased presence of Egyptian military in the Sinai near Israel's border is cause for alarm.  Such a build up predicated both the 1967 Six-Day War and the 1973 Yom Kippur War. 

Another week has gone by and the violent civil war in Syria continues almost unabated.  I read this morning that the Russians and Syrian leaders have not ascribed to the US "red line" declaration - the threat of United States military involvement in Syria if Syrian president Assad should decide to move or to deploy unconventional weapons.  Russia is Syria's key ally and its desire is that the Syrians reach their own settlement without foreign intervention.  In spite of various reports, the Assad regime does not appear to be in imminent demise, as the hundreds of innocent civilians that die each day remind us.  The very thought of chemical and biological weapons falling into the hands of Hezbollah create a nervous anxiety within Israel's leadership. 

So, will there be war in the Middle East?  The biblical response is a clearly stated "yes!"  Both Psalm 83 and Ezekiel 38-39 attest to this reality.  Yet, in both instances - for as you know, I believe that these are two separate wars - God will intervene and Israel will be successful.  For that we join with our Israeli friends and say "Praise God!"  I am so grateful that He is in total control, aren't you?

In closing I would like to strongly recommend a book for your reading.  It is titled, STILL THE BEST HOPE, and was written by Dennis Prager - one of the leading conservative talk-show hosts today.  Mr. Prager is an Orthodox Jew with strong moral convictions and conservative ideals.  The central focus of this book is the explanation of why the world desperately needs the values and moral structure that America was founded upon, and how Americans need to rediscover those values.  In the first third of the book, Mr. Prager examines and contrasts the beliefs of those on the Left and those on the Right.  It is not a diatribe against the Left as many others have done, but is a carefully documented and logical presentation of how the Left and the Right have differed on such things as education, the humanities, and government in general. 

The second part of the book focuses upon Islam.  I thought I had heard all these arguments before, but I was wrong.  Once again Mr. Prager carefully and accurately helps his readers to understand the foundations upon which Islam is fashioned.  He seeks to answer the question: Why do Muslims do what they do?  Why do they believe what they believe?  In answer to those questions he often makes reference to Muslim writers and authorities on the Muslim faith.

The third and final part of the book focuses upon the uniqueness that is America.  According to Mr. Prager, America has three central foundational truths: Liberty - which Mr. Prager does a powerful job of explaining (every American should read this section); In God We Trust - a foundational truth that is little taught any more in our schools, resulting in a generation of Americans failing to understand why America is different than any other nation on the face of the earth; and E Pluribus Unum - that truth that has caused the world to come to our doorsteps.  "Out of many, one" - what an important truth.

Friends, I heartily recommend this book.  It is not one of those books you sit down and read 100 pages at a sitting - no, if you get through 20 pages at a sitting you will be doing well, for this book causes you to reflect and think and then to respond.  You will either say, "America is a special place and its values are truly worth fighting for and holding onto" or you will say, "America needs to become just like all the other nations in the world."

I was recently asked, "Max, do you think it is too late to reclaim America as she once was?"  My response was, "I believe we are down the road of immorality and decadence a great way, but anything that can be done to slow the downward descent needs to be acted upon."  I then shared the story in the Bible of God's judgment upon the nation of Judah.  The reforms initiated by Kings Hezekiah and Josiah could not prevent God's judgment from happening, but they did delay that judgment and gave many an opportunity of being restored into fellowship with God. 

Grab your Bible and a glass of iced-tea.  Head for your favorite porch swing or deck chair.  Prayerfully ask God, "What would you have me to do to begin to make a difference in my neighborhood, in my community, and in my country?"  Then get to work!  God will bless you and as we work together the hand of God's judgment may be stayed a while longer.